1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a compound thin-film photovoltaic cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, photovoltaic power generation, for which fuel is unnecessary and that does not eject greenhouse gas, has been receiving a lot of attention. For example, a compound thin-film photovoltaic cell is known in which an inorganic insulating layer and a compound light absorption layer such as a CIS-based thin-film or the like are stacked on a metal substrate such as a stainless substrate or the like.
Here, manufacturing steps of the compound thin-film photovoltaic cell include a process step in which the metal substrate is exposed to high corrosive gas atmosphere such as hydrogen selenide (H2Se), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or the like. If the metal substrate is corroded, problems such as delamination or interlayer short-circuit of layers that are deposited on the metal substrate thereafter or the like may occur, and such problems cause lowering of characteristics of the compound thin-film photovoltaic cell.
Thus, it is necessary to form a corrosion prevention layer at least on a back surface, which is a main surface of the metal substrate that is exposed to gas atmosphere. As such, retaining corrosion resistance for the metal substrate is an important problem in manufacturing a compound thin-film photovoltaic cell with good characteristics.